Helical cable grip



Jan. 2s, 1969 G. w. TAYLOR 3,424,417

HELICAL CABLE GRIP Filed March 8, 1966 Sheet llb INVENTOR. GEORGE WESLEY TAYLOR BY Mk ATTORNEYS Jan. 28, 1969 G.w TAYLOR HELICAL CABLE GRIP Sheet Filed March 8, 1966 INVENTOR. GEORGE WESLEY TAYLOR FIG. 7

ATTORNEYS United States Patcnt Ofifice 3,424,417 Patented Jan. 28, 1969 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cable grip made of wire provided with a hook at one end for attaching the grip to a rigid support. The cable grip is provided with two helical portions, one of which is a right hand helix and the other of which is a left hand helix. One of the helixes is positioned between the hook and the other of the helixes sothat these helical portions of the cable grip extend end-on and the gripping action of the helixes on the cable tend to turn the cable in opposite directions when pull is exerted on the cable and, thus, the cable is prevented from slipping through the grip and the insulation of the cable is not damaged.

This invention relates to a cable grip and apparatus for making same.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved cable grip which is adapted to hold a cable, such as a television coaxial type, without damaging deformation thereof Another object of this invention is to provide an improved cable grip which is formed of a coiled wire so that it is adapted to encircle a section of the cable, a portion of the cable grip having a right hand helix and another portion having a left hand helix.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for making a cable grip having right hand and left hand helical portions gripping the cable, said apparatus forming these helical portions in one operation simultaneously.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which itrelates from the following specification, claims and drawing in which, briefly:

FIG. 1 is a side view showing this cable grip applied to a cable for gripping same;

FIG. 2 is a perspetctive view of the apparatus employed for producing, the helical calble grip of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the wire inserted into the cable grip forming apparatus preparatory to forming the right hand and left hand helixes therein;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 2 showing the cross section of one of the wire guides;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 2 showing how the angularly spaced wire guides move away from each other as the right hand and left hand helixes are wound into the wire cable grip as the cable grip is formed around the centrally disposed mandrel of the apparatus; and

FIG. 8 is a detail view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 7.

:Referring to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10 designates a cable which is to be gripped by the device 11, as shown in FIG. 1. The gripping device 11 is provided with two helical sections 11a and 11b which are right hand and left hand helixes, respectively. The cable 10 is snugly received in these helical sections so that if force is exerted on the cable tending to pull it out of the helixes, a gripping action is provided therein. The cable griping device is provided with a hook 11c which is adapted to be hooked in the loop 12 attached to the rigid member .13 which may be a .post or a building to which the cable is to be anchored.

The cable grip 11 is made in the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 8, inclusive. This apparatus is provided with a rod-shaped mandrel 14 which is supported in the tubular members 15 and :16. These tubular members 15 and 16 are loosely supported in the tubes 17 and 18, respectively, which are supported by the standards 19 and 20, respectively, attached to the base 21. The tubes 17 and 18 are provided with bearings such as the bearings \17a and 17b, respectively, shown in FIG. 3, in which the tubular members are adapted to slide. Channel-shaped wire guides 23 and 24 are attached to the tubular members 15 and 16, respectively, so that when these guides are brought adjacent to each other, as shown in FIG. 4, they form an inverted V configuration which is adapted to receive the wire 25 that is to be formed into the cable grip.

Thus, the wire 25 which is preformed into a V-shape is positioned between the guides 23 and 24 so that the cusp 25a of the V-shaped wire is positioned against one side of the mandrel 14. With the wire 25 in this position, the wire twisting member 26 is positioned over the cusp 25a and mandrel 14 so that the wire is received in the notch 26a and the mandrel 14 is lodged in the notch 26b. Thus, the notch 26b forms a bearing for the member 26 when this member is rotated around the mandril in the clockwise direction. The member 26 is provided with three arms 26c, 26d and 26:: so that it may be more readily manually rotated around the mandrel.

As the member 26 is rotated around the mandrel 14, the wire 25 is fed to the mandrel by the guides 23 and 24 on opposite sides of the member 26, as shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the wire 25 is formed into two helical sections 25b and 25:: on opposite sides of the member 26. One of these sections 25b is a right hand helix while the other section 250 is a left hand helix. As these helixes are formed on opposite sides of the member 26, the guides 23 and 24 are moved away from each other, as shown in FIG. 7. It will also be noted that the angle of the guides 23 and 24 with respect to the mandrel 14 determines the pitch of the helixes 25b and 256.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the invention is capable of variation and modification so that its scope should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a cable grip adapted for gripping and supporting cable which may be of the coaxial type having an outer coating of insulation over a braided tubular conductor separated from a centrally disposed conductor by deformable insulation, without damaging the deformable insulation, the combination comprising a wire having two helical portions adapted to encircle the cable and snuggly receive said cable therein, a hook in one end of said wire for attaching said one end to a rigid support, one of said helical wire portions being a right hand helix and the other being a left hand helix, one end of said right hand helix being joined to one end of said left hand helix so that said helixes extend away from each other, and one of said helixes being positioned between said hook and the other of said helixes, whereby the gripping actions of said helixes on said cable tend to turn said cable in opposite directions and said cable is prevented from slipping fiherethrough.

2. In a cable grip adapted for gripping and supporting cable which may be of the coaxial type having an outer coating of insulation over a braided tubular conductor separated from a centrally disposed conductor by deformable insulation, without damaging the deformable insulation, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a cusp formed in said wire joining the adjacent ends of said helixes of opposed hands.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,725,610 8/1929 Byl. 2,897,256 7/1959 Kitselman et al. 248-63 X 3,007,300 11/1961 Peterson 24'863 X 

